3 Days in Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (B)

When Mark and I added Barcelona to our France and England trip itinerary, it was only meant to be a way to mark Spain off our country list. We didn’t expect it to be as incredible as it was. Instantly, we realized that using Barcelona as a “map-pin stopover” was doing it a disservice. This is a city that deserves to be given due time to explore all its offerings. Still, we managed to cover a lot of ground in the three days we had, before taking the train up through the South of France. Here are a few of the highlights and recommendations (including some of the sights we didn’t have time to get to ourselves!)

Depending on your preferred style of travel, you may find a city card beneficial. Barcelona offers a tourist card for 3, 4 or 5 days called the Barcelona Card. It includes free public transportation, free admission into 25 sights, and reduced admission into 85 others.

I don’t usually recommend Hop On Hop Off bus tours, as they can be touch-and-go quality-wise. (Don’t get me started on Brussels!) But, when you have limited time in a new city, sometimes a quick and dirty bus tour gets you the exposure you need. Barcelona has a lot to see, and while they have a good transportation system, you might feel more at ease just taking a Hop On Hop Off bus. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).